Who's in the cabinet?

By By the Visual Journalism team BBC News Published 20 July 2026, 18:59 BST Updated 18 minutes ago Prime Minister Andy Burnham has started building his new cabinet after taking office following the resignation of Sir Keir Starmer. Starmer resigned nearly two years after leading the Labour Party into power in July 2024. Explore our interactive guide below to learn more about the key figures and their role in government. The guide will be updated as new appointments are made. Andy Burnham's cabinet Tap on a photo to read more Andy Burnham is the new prime minister, after winning the backing of 379 of Labour's 403 MPs as the best person to replace Sir Keir Starmer. He has pledged to shift power away from Whitehall, introduce "greater public control" of the water and energy sectors and to build more council houses – while keeping Labour’s election pledge not to raise the main rates of income tax, VAT or National Insurance. Born in Aintree in 1970, Burnham was inspired by the miners’ strike to join the Labour Party in his teens and first became an MP in 2001. The former health secretary had twice failed to become party leader - losing to Ed Miliband in 2010 and Jeremy Corbyn in 2015 - and after leaving Parliament, served as Greater Manchester mayor. He returned as Makerfield MP in June and succeeded Sir Keir Starmer a month later. A life-long Everton fan and talented sportsman, he was part of Labour's Demon Eyes FC football team when Tony Blair was PM, and regularly featured in the Labour MPs vs Lobby journalists match while in Parliament. John Healey has returned to the cabinet as chancellor, less than two months after quitting as defence secretary. In his resignation letter Healey was highly critical of the government's defence spending plans, saying Sir Keir Starmer had been "unable" and the Treasury was "unwilling to commit the resources the nation needs to defend the country". It is a surprise appointment for the MP for Rawmarsh and Conisbrough in South Yorkshire, with many speculating the role would go to Ed Miliband or Shabana Mahmood. Healey was parliamentary private secretary to Chancellor Gordon Brown from 1999 to 2001, before serving as adult skills, Treasury, local government and housing minister between 2001 and 2010. He is well-respected on the international stage and has built links with key economic allies in Europe, the Middle East and the United States. Louise Haigh has become chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, first secretary of state and Cabinet Office minister. Haigh, one of Andy Burnham’s closest allies, will run Number 10 North, a new unit that Burnham has promised will redistribute power and support regions to reform utilities, reindustrialisation and regeneration. After entering parliament as MP for Sheffield Heeley in 2015, Haigh was named the hardest-working new MP in 2016 due to the number of her Commons speeches and questions, and praised by then-Speaker John Bercow for her "terrier-like intensity". In 2025, the